The Cure - II [Exemplary]

[Proto Man]

The Prototype Robot Master rushed right into the mouth of the monster, letting the Proto Buster clear a path with a rapid succession of concentrated blasts. Those darkspawn that tried to stand in his way either dove away or absorbed fatal energy bursts to their face or chest. Although a few of the creatures lashed out as he ran by, Proto Man shrugged off the blows as he continued toward the Black Gate.

Nestled underneath the massive dead gate was an elevated platform that spanned the distance of the two support pillars. At the center of the elliptical stone platform, a large and jagged chunk of red stone gave of a faint crimson glow. The preteen machine raced up the steps, and when he reached the landing at the top, he found himself standing a few feet away from a relatively simple-looking woman in black and red robes.

“Hello, Blues.” Her voice seemed strangely fragile, as if a strong gust of wind would break her into pieces. “I see you’ve made it.”

“Who are you?” Proto Man asked as his system started to scan the woman.

She smiled, her thin, pale lips seeming to vanish as she flashed a mouthful of perfect white teeth at the preteen machine. “You know me already, Blues.” Although soft, there were subtle hints of something cruel beneath her tone. “You’ve been dedicating all this time to my undoing, haven’t you?”

It was then that the android realized he was looking at the entity responsible for all the pain and suffering that had befallen the Pale Moors and Tangled Green over the last few years. He was looking at Scylla, the Archdemon.

“What were you expecting?” The woman inquired. “A demon? A winged monster?”

A smirked flashed across the youth’s features. “Kind of,” he answered genuinely as Scylla grinned. “I mean Archdemon tends to imply a demonic creature, you know?”

“A title, sweet child.” Scylla glanced out into the encampment. Flames licked up from ruined buildings, and the ground was already bruised and broken. “You’ve brought death and destruction to my little home.”

Proto Man scowled. “You’ve brought death and destruction to my big home,” he answered, eliciting a gentle chuckle from the woman. She took a step forward and held out a palm. After a moment of silence, a sphere of swirling black energy hummed to life.

“I bring peace, Proto Man.” She whispered, her soft voice somehow carrying itself over the wind even as the sound of the nearby melee intensified. “Peace and freedom from a life of pain and anarchy… The Blight exists to comfort and cleanse the Omniverse, not to hurt it.”

The youth scowled as the Proto Buster started to hum, light sputtering out from its barrel. “Tell that to Wood Man,” he retorted as he lifted the firearm. “My brother begged me to kill him after your cleansing turned him into a tortured monster.” With a violent flash, a lance of yellow energy erupted from the weapon. Even with little time to react, Scylla was able to launch the sphere of darkness, which collided with the Finish Buster. The two opposing forces struck one another, but rather than an explosion, both seemed to simply cancel the other out. Scylla’s sphere swallowed the buster blast and vanished, leaving nothing but empty space between the two adversaries.

“You can’t defeat me, Blues, I am your better.” Although she was insulting him, there wasn’t a shred of malice in her voice. It was almost as if the woman had been lobotomized and was unable to articulate any complex emotions.

“I’ve done a lot since I was brought to this place,” Proto Man replied as he stared at the Archdemon. “While you’ve been holed up here, I’ve been wandering the Omniverse… growing stronger and better than I could have ever hoped to be before.” The air around the machine seemed to shimmer as his body started to vent excess heat through the armored pads he wore. “I promise you that I will defeat you or tear you down with me.”

Scylla laughed softly as a coat of flames gradually washed over her lithe form. “I’m going to tear you apart, Blues. I’m going to break you down and let you watch as I accepted your family into my own.”

“Never.” Proto Man rushed forward, his body vanishing in a burst of white light as his system overclocked. His fist was the first to emerge from the white light, and behind it, the strong and muscular body of an adolescent Robot Master. The punch he threw connected with the woman’s chin, but despite her size and almost skeletal appearance, it barely staggered her. As she stumbled, she turned her eyes toward him, and for the first time, Proto Man saw something akin to emotion burning behind the aura of flames. A thin hand shot forward, and with it, a stream of electricity that seemed to form from thin air. Like a battering ram, the column of electrical energy struck his chest, throwing him back onto the steps that led up to the platform.